Incursio

I know this is kind of early, but: On February 14, 2009: Oregon turns 150. Oregon150 is looking to coordinate and plan some big time celebrations. Check it out, and if you or any organizations you are involved with have ideas for something big to say Happy Birthday to Oregon next year - let them know! Or just share your Oregon story.

I don't need to say too much. The pictures speak for themselves. These pictures were taken at ONE spot on NF-45 forest road in Mt. Hood National Forest. The road is also known as "Memaloose" or "Maymaloose" road depending on which sign and map you read. It is maybe 50 miles outside of Portland, southeast on Hwy 224 - along the Clackamas river. The country up there is some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. The ridge lines, and the deep jagged canyon from millions of years of raging water in the Clackamas river are something wonderful to behold. Driving up this road, we passed at least 5 spots that seemed to be popular with shooters, before we turned around. The road is a steep one lane paved road, and our GPS said we went from 700ft. at the river to 3000ft. almost instantaneously. At some points there are steep 1000 foot drops on either side of the road. It is breathtaking. Until you come across the shooting sites, which make you nauseous. I ...

I have been working with Chrysler Financial this week trying to resolve some issues with a vehicle financed through them. Every time I call I take notes of the call, including who I speak with. Each call, I have spoken to someone who is Indian. Not Native American, but Indian from the subcontinent of India. Each person has had a very thick accent, with at least two of them being extremely hard to understand. I have not been able to ascertain if they are actually in North America or actually in India... However, here are the names that they have given me: Nick Wilson Sharon Mark Cooper Nicolas Adams Samantha Williams Either they are making up more American sounding names, or I just happened to call the only 5 Indian customer service representatives who happen to have completely American names. Considering the fact that I have worked with hundreds of Indian people (I am in the IT industry) and not a single one has had an American sounding name - I would consider the odd...

This goes out to the nice homely lady waiting for and riding bus 58 out of downtown Portland recently. Just because you CAN have personal discussions on the cell phone, doesn't mean you SHOULD. We, the fellow passengers, have no real interest in your personal afairs. For example - despite what the other person on the end of the line might want to know, we certainly do not need to know that you are suffering your worst cramps in recent memory. While I can sympathize with you, and I am sure many of our co-passengers can empathize with you - it is really none of our business. But even if we were to feel some sort of tugging at our heart strings for your unfortunate suffering I feel fairly confident in pointing out that we really have no interest in the fact that you recently had vaginal discharge, which was determined to be caused by an infection which was treated by antibiotics and as such you are now feeling much better. I am happy that your problem which would possibly ...

I overheard a conversation in Beaverton today where someone was having to pick up a package at the FedEx depot in Portland, "somewhere by the Convention Center" (actually on Swan Island). They were (seriously) complaining that they had to go back home to get their gun in order to drive into Portland. Oh My God.

So we are in Benihana enjoying a special lunch with the family. And the couple that we "shared" the hibachi grill / table with spent most of the meal on the phone or texting. They made several calls each, and then "excused" themselves by saying that today was their daughter's second birthday, and they were planning the party. Hey, A$$HOLES: It is not my fault you are crappy parents and didn't plan until the last minute. Don't ruin my $20 lunch by blabbering (loudly) on the phone the whole time, please. And to top it off, each one drank two beers and a goodly amount of saki. And they drove off in separate vehicles. Drunken birthday planners who are rushed and in a hurry! Glad I wasn't driving / biking / or walking around Beaverton this afternoon...

Here are some random image thoughts that I have from around the Portland area. Image thoughts. Those are images that struck me in one way or another, and here are my thoughts about them: Seen this week at Fred Meyer on NE Broadway & 30th. Best sale EVAR!!!! This is another one that I took a few years back (Feb 2003 to be exact). I figured I would include it here, for posterity sake. Good thing these price adjustments are "Automatic" because otherwise I would worry about the folks running the store. Or maybe we should anyway, because even if the computer spits out the signs auto-magically, some human has to take the sign and tape it to the products in question. These two photos were taken more than 5 years apart. Why was the "bug" in the software which allows "automatic price reductions" of zero to occur and print out not found and fixed within those 5 years? You can barely make this one out. But it was a food-shoot. It is inside ...